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The PAN AMERICAN UNION 

JOHN BARRETT : : : Director General 
FRANCISCO J. YANES : Assistant Director 



A GLANCE 

AT 

LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 

By 

Francisco J. Yanes 




WASHINGTON, D. C. 
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A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN 
CIVILIZATION' .-. .-. •. 



The civilization of peoples cannot always be gauged by set standards. 
There are varying factors to be taken into consideration and discrep- 
ancies to be accounted for in measuring the degree of cultural and 
industrial progress of a nation. Conditions growing out of racial 
characteristics, historical necessities, geographical position, custom and 
habit, on the one hand, and on the other the basic principles upon which 
different societies have been built, must not be lost sight of in dealing 
with, or rather, in endeavoring to understand the factors that have led 
to the progress of a given nation, or aggregate of nations of the same or 
similar origin. 

Latin American civilization from an Anglo Saxon point of view may 
be found wanting in many respects, but the life and happiness of nations, 
the ideals and hopes of their peoples, their legislation and, institutions, 
are not to be found ready made, but have to be worked out to meet 
peculiar wants, and in accordance with the racial, mental, moral and 
material resources and necessities of each. 

We must deal with Latin America as a whole if we wish to cast a rapid 
glance at its civiHzation. Some of the twenty free and independent 
states which in their aggregate make up Latin America have developed 
more than others, and a few marvelously so, but whether north or south 
of the Panama Canal, east or west, on the Atlantic or the Pacific, on the 
Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico, the countries of Latin America sprang 
from the same race — the brave, hardy, adventurous, romantic and 
warlike Spanish and Portuguese conquerors, who fought their way 
through unknown territories, whether in quest of "El Dorado" or in 
warfare against whole nations of Indians, as in the case of Mexico and 
Peru, where the native Indians had a marvelous civilization of their own. 

On the other hand, the men who founded these United States, the 
Pilgrims who first set foot on this new land of promise, and those who 
followed in the wake of the first settlers, came to this country already 
prepared, through years of training, to govern themselves. They came 
to the friendly shores of the New World in quest of freedom. They 
wanted a home in a new land not yet contaminated with the spirit of the 
Old World. They brought with them their creed, their habits of order 

^By Francisco J. Yanes, Asst. Director,' and Secretary^^of the Governing Board, of 
the Pan American Union. Reprinted from The Journal of Race Development, Vol. 
4, No. 4, April, 19 14. 



4 THK PAN AMERICAN UNION. 

and discipline, their love of freedom, their respect for the established 
principles of law. Hence from its inception Anglo American civilization 
was built upon solid ground. Its subsequent development — -the marvel 
of the last half of the nineteenth and this our twentieth century — is due 
to the solidity of their institutions, their steadfastness of purpose, their 
practical sense of life, and a territorial expanse where all the soils, all the 
wealth, all the climatic conditions of the cold, the temperate and the 
tropical zone can be found. 

The discussion of Latin American civilization is of vast importance, 
since it deals with the history and development of twenty republics 
lying beyond the Mexican border, and covering an aggregate area of 
about 9,000,000 square miles, with a total population of over 70,000,000, 
of which 48,000,000 speak the Spanish language, 20,000,000 Portuguese 
in Brazil, and 2,000,000 French in Haiti. This general division brings 
us at once to deal, under the same classification, with peoples and 
civilization springing from different sources — Spanish, Portuguese and 
French. Even among the Spanish-speaking countries there are condi- 
tions, depending on the province of origin of the first Spanish colonizers 
and settlers, who came mainly from Biscay, Andalusia, Castile, Aragon, 
and Extremadura, which further tend to establish other slight differences, 
just as the various states of this country show differences due to the 
sources of their population. 

For our purpose, a general survey of the twenty countries called 
Latin America is not amiss. Geographically, Latin America begins 
beyond the Rio Grande, with Mexico, at the southern boundary of which 
extends what is called Central America, consisting of Guatemala, 
Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, the historic five 
Central American states; Panama, the gateway to the Pacific on the 
west and to the Caribbean and the Atlantic on the east; South America 
proper, embracing Venezuela on the Caribbean, Colombia on that sea 
and partly on the Pacific; Ecuador, Peru and Chile, bordering on the 
Pacific; Bolivia and Paraguay, inland states in the heart of South 
America; Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil on the Atlantic; and, lastly, 
Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, islands in the Caribbean 
Sea. So we see that Latin American extends from the north temperate 
zone to Cape Horn, near the Antarctic Ocean, which means that all 
climatic conditions are found in that enormous area over which the pole 
star, the Southern Cross, and the constellations brightening the South 
Pole keep nightly watch, from the cool regions of northern Mexico to the 
tropical heat of the torrid zone and again to the cold lands of Patagonia. 
This is indeed a world of wealth where all the products of the entire 
globe can be successfully cultivated, where all races of mankind can live 



A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 5 

and thrive, because, the Mexican and Central American Cordilleras, and 
further south the mighty Andean range, offer an unbroken chain of lofty 
peaks, wide valleys, and extensive tablelands, affording all climates and 
zones, all kinds of soils and minerals, the only limitations to the develop- 
ment of these lands being human endurance. The water supply is 
plentiful in most parts of Mexico and the Central American republics, 
and there is nothing in the world which can be compared to the hydro- 
graphic areas of northern and central South America, consisting of the 
Orinoco basin with its 400 affluents, offering a total navigable length of 
about 4000 miles ; the mighty Amazon having three times the volume of 
the Mississippi and navigable for over 2000 miles, and the network 
of great rivers emptying into it; the Parana and the River Plata, with 
twice the volume of the Mississippi, and a thousand other streams too 
numerous to mention in detail, but which cai^ be found on any fairly 
good map, showing a feasible water route from the mouth of the Orinoco 
in Venezuela to the Amazon and the very heart of South America, and 
thence to the Parana and finally to the River Plata. 

We all know how Columbus discovered this New World which today 
bears the name of America (although the application of that name is 
quite restricted in this country to the United States) — we have all heard 
of the hardships Columbus and his followers had to endure, their suffer- 
ings, their hopes, and their faith in some supernatural fate, a trait 
begotten by the influence of Moorish ancestors in vSpain through the 
mingling of both races during the occupation wars which lasted over 
eight centuries. The discovery of America has a tinge of romance, such 
as inspires the soul of the adventurer and the buccaneer. It was a 
romance that began at the Rabida, grew in the presence and with the 
help of good Queen Isabella, developed into a mad desire for adventure 
at Palos, and ended with the planting of the Spanish standard on the 
shores of Guanahani, now called Watling's Island. From here Colum- 
bus went to what is today called Cuba, thence to Hispaniola — now 
divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where his remains now 
rest in the Cathedral at Santo Domingo — and in this latter island 
founded the first white settlement in the New World. We cannot follow 
Columbus' voyages or his adventures step by step, but we must feel that 
the discovery of America is an epic poem worthy of the mettle of the 
great discoverer and his men. 

And so the civiHzation of what is called I,atin America began with the 
first Spanish settlement, the first Indian blood shed by the greed of the 
white conqueror, and the first attempt to Christianize the inhabitants of 
the new-found land. The inevitable features of conquest — war, 
treachery, destruction, fire, sword, deeds of valor but Httle known, and 



6 THE PAN AMERICAN UNION. 

endurance almost superhuman — marked along the trail of the discoverers 
the birth and first steps of the New World. And in the midst of this 
turmoil, bravely battling against unknown odds, the Spanish missionary 
fathers worked unceasingly, founding hamlets and towns, thus planting 
in the wilderness the seeds of many a large city today, building their 
temples of worship, going from place to place struggling with disease and 
hunger, teaching the Indians the Spanish language and with it their 
religious faith, and laying the foundation of what is known today as 
I^atin America. 

The second stage of Latin American civilization began when the 
crown of Spain finally took an active interest in its new possessions and 
men of a better class than the soldiery which landed with the discoverers 
and conquerors began to come to the New World, bringing their wives 
and daughters, and surrounding themselves with whatever comforts 
could be had in their new home. They were in many cases scions of 
noble families, who came either as viceroys, governors, or in some other 
administrative capacity, or as "oidores," judges and men of letters in 
general. There also came learned monks, and among these, philosophers, 
poets, musicians, painters, etc. Hence some of the oldest descriptions 
and chronicles of Latin America are in verse or in choice prose, either in 
Spanish or in Latin, and we find in some of the oldest cities in Spanish 
America wonderful examples of wood carving, either in churches or in 
old houses, beautiful specimens of the gold and silversmiths' art in ware 
of the precious metals, some fine paintings, and unexcelled samples of 
the art of illuminating books, particularly missals. 

The scholarg, either members of the religious orders or laymen, began 
to gather books imported from Europe, and so our libraries were started, 
mainly in the convents. With this feature of civilization the necessity 
of educating the children of the Spaniards and the Indians became more 
pressing, and private schools and seminaries were established, as a first 
step to the foundation of universities. I think it is due to the Spaniards 
to state right here that both in Mexico and in Peru schools were founded 
for the education of the Indians, to teach them not only reading and 
writing, but the manual arts as well. 

We Latin Americans record with natural pride the fact that the first 
university founded in the New World was that of Santo Tomas de 
Aquino at Santo Domingo, in 1538. This University is no longer in 
existence, but|we still have that of San Marcos at Lima, Peru, founded 
in 1 55 1 ; the University of Mexico, established in 1553 and refounded in 
1910; the University of Cordoba, in Argentina, dating from 1613; that 
of Sucre in Bolivia, founded in 1623, or thirteen years before Harvard, 
which dates from 1636, and that of Cuzco, in Peru, established in 1692, 



A GLANCE AT I.ATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 7 

or eight years earlier than Yale, which was founded in 1701. The 
University of Caracas, in Venezuela, dates from 1721, and that of 
Habana, Cuba, from 1728, the other universities founded before the 
nineteenth century being that of Santiago, Chile, in 1743, and the 
University of Quito, Ecuador, in 1787. 

The great agent of civilization and progress, the printing press, has 
been known in Latin America since 1536, when the first printing outfit 
was introduced into Mexico and the first book printed in the New World, 
a plea of Father Las Casas for a better life. Cartagena, Colombia, is 
said to have been the second city of America to have a printing press, in 
1560 or 1562, but Peru seems to hold the record for the first book printed 
in South America, about 1584, and La Paz, Bolivia, had a printing 
establishment about 16 10. There were also a press and other printing 
paraphernalia at the Jesuit missions of Paraguay about the first decade 
of the seventeenth century. The first work in Bogota was printed about 
1739; Ecuador printed its first book in 1760, and Venezuela in 1764, while 
the earliest production of the Chilean press bears the date of 1776; and 
there was a printing outfit in Cordoba, Argentina, in 1767. With the 
foundation of universities and schools and more frequent communication 
with Spain and other European countries of Latin origin, and the print- 
ing of books and newspapers in the New World, the desire for learning 
was developed and a new field was opened to intellectual culture. 
■ Dissatisfaction of the colonies with the exactions and abuses of the 
viceroys, captains-general and other officials representing the crown of 
Spain, jealousies between the Creoles, or children of Spanish parents born 
in America, and the "peninsulars," or native Spaniards, commercial 
preference and social distinctions, and other petty annoyances born of 
the arrogance of the Spaniards, on the one hand, and the proud nature 
of the Creoles on the other, were the smouldering embers that, fanned by 
the success of the American Revolution and the storm of the French 
Revolution, set on fire the Spanish colonies at the end of the eighteenth 
and the beginning of the nineteenth century. The majority of the 
Spanish American countries attained their independence between 1804 
and 1825, and their struggles for freedom, while encouraged by the 
example of the United States, were inspired in French ideals. The 
heroes of the bloody but romantic French Revolution, their fiery speeches 
and undaunted bravery, their proclamation of the republic and the 
rights of man; the echoes of the Boston Tea Party, the exploits of the 
spirit of '76, the commanding and serene figure of Washington, the 
birth of the American Constitution, the utterances of the grave thinkers 
and inspired orators of the revolutionary period — all these dazzHng 
examples of patriotism appealed to the Spanish American colonists, and 



8 the; pan AMERICAN UNION. 

one by one the colonies began their fight for independence. The execu- 
tions and igncrniny heaped upon the first patriots who forfeited their 
hves for the cause of independence, instead of discouraging the leaders, 
made them more aggressive, and they resolved to gain the day at all 
hazards. 

We come now to the most brilliant pages of the history of Latin Amer- 
ica, and upon these pages are written the names of Miranda of Venezuela, 
the precursor of South American independence; Bolivar, who has been 
called the Washington of South America, a brilliant soldier and born 
leader, the liberator and father of Venezuela, his native country, and of 
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia; Sucre, also a Venezuelan, more 
like Washington than Bolivar, the very soul of honor, a gallant knight 
and an accomplished diplomat; San Martin, the brave and heroic Hber- 
ator of the southern half of South Am^erica; Artigas, a man of sterling 
qualities; O'Higgins, the great Chilean hero; Tiradentes, the forerunner 
of Brazihan independence; Morelos and Hidalgo in Mexico, both 
Catholic priests, and both martyrs to the cause of independence; and 
hundreds of others from each country whose names would be meaningless 
except to those w^ell acquainted with the histon,^ of South America. 

But, once free from colonial bondage, the new republics, whose political 
constitutions in the main are based on that of the United States, had to 
deal with fresh problems arising from changed conditions. The new 
political entities commenced their independent life heavily handicapped, 
on the one hand by their economic condition after a period of protracted 
wars, and on the other hand by a scarcity of population, and — though 
paradoxical, nevertheless true — the fertility of the soil and extremely 
favorable climatic conditions. The unbounded productiveness of Latin 
America, coupled with the modest wants of the masses, has been the 
main cause of the slow development of most of these countries as manu- 
facturing centers, their chief m.eans of support being agricultural and 
allied industries, and mining. The evolution out of all this chaos has 
been more rapid in some countries than in others, due to special condi- 
tions, among which the principal ones are in general terms geographic 
and topographic position, and predominance of the white man. 

, The leading classes, owners of black slaves and landlords to the 
Indian tenantrv, lived for the most part in relative ease after the war of 
independence. Those who did not seek in the army a field for their 
activities or inclinations, devoted themselves to intellectual and scientific 
pursuits, either in civil life or in the ser\dce of the church. Some went 
abroad, to France or Spain preferably, to acquire a general education 
or to perfect that received at home and to see the world, on their return 
bringing new ideas which were eventually adopted and more or less 



A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 9 

modified as necessity demanded. With the progress of the nineteenth 
century Latin America also advanced. 

Intellectually, the Latin Americans are anything but the inferiors of 
the Anglo Americans. The hterature of Latin America is as rich and 
valuable as that of any country, yet it is hardly known — not to say 
entirely unknown — in the United States except by a handful of men who 
have devoted their time to the study of the Spanish language. It is only 
now, during the last few years, that a desire to know Spanish has made 
itself felt in the United States, and it is astonishing to note the number of 
persons now able to read and understand the language. On the other 
hand, the study of modern languages is compulsory in all of the universi- 
ties and colleges of Latin America, and absolutely necessary to obtain 
certain academic degrees. French was for a long time the languao-e 
chosen by the majority of the students, hence the influence of French 
literature and French thought in Latin America. German was taken 
up by many, more as a commercial tongue than otherwise, but even so, 
German literature, particularly the works of Goethe, Schiller and Heine, 
and most of the writers of today, are well known in Latin America. 
English was preferred by others, rather as an accomplishment than as a 
language of immediate practical use, until now it has taken, in many 
cases, the place of German. These two languages have followed the 
trend of trade, but English is becoming more useful every day in view of 
the increased relations of Latin Am.erica with the United States, in all 
spheres of human activity. 

The problem of education has always commanded the earnest atten- 
tion of all the Latin Am^erican governments, to the extent of havino- 
made primary education, in most of these countries, not only free but 
compulsory. So far as higher education is concerned — that is, all grades 
above primary — there are institutions, either public or private, or both, 
for secondary and superior education, normal schools, schools of mines, 
agricultural and manual training, technological institutes, colleo-es, 
universities, conservatories of music, academies of painting and sculpture, 
national or public libraries, museums, etc. — in short, all kinds of institu- 
tions devoted to the moral and intellectual uplift of the people. 

In all the Latin American countries there is a system of scholarships 
w^hich serves as a practical means of promoting interest in education. 
This system provides for supporting abroad for a certain length of time 
such of the students and graduates as have won honors, who are sent to 
Europe and in some cases to the United States, to perfect their educa- 
tion and bring home new methods and the latest and most approved 
systems. We frequently hear at the Pan American Union of Latin 
Americans who have come to the United States or are coming here to 



lO THK PAN AMERICAN UNION. 

take a post-graduate course in some science or profession, and others who 
are in this country studying and investigating school methods and 
appUances. At present there are over 1350 such students in the United 
States. 

I think this is the proper occasion to urge upon American scholars and 
professors the necessity of encouraging the preparation in the English 
language of popular monographs for school use, written by responsible 
and unprejudiced men, on the history and geography of the Latin 
American countries. So far as I know, there is not a single well-known 
schoolbook in English giving in a concise, impartial manner the history 
of any one of the countries of Latin America. The history of the 
United States, on the other hand, is studied in Latin American colleges 
and unversities along with the modern history of France and England, 
Spain, Italy and Germany. Another point that deserves passing men- 
tion is the scarcity of good American books in Latin America, in the 
Spanish language, due to their enormous cost. France, Italy, Germany, 
and Spain especially, publish in Spanish hundreds of useful books on 
history, science, geography, literature, etc., at prices so low that no one 
can give excessive cost as an excuse for not having what is termed in 
Spanish " an economical library," that is, smaU volumes of several pages, 
well edited, bound in paper, which are worth from 20 cents up to 50 or 
75 cents. An American work cannot be obtained at such prices. I can 
remember in my childhood days having learned to read from a series of 
books, edited in Spanish by a New York publishing firm, called "Libros 
de Lectura de Mandeville" (Mandeville's Readers). The school 
o-eography was also edited in Spanish by the same publishing house, if I 
am not mistaken, and was called " Primer Libro de Geografia de Smith" 
(Smith's (Asa) First hook of Geography). If the sale of American printed- 
books fails of success in Latin America, it is due mainly to the almost 
prohibitive prices. 

With better means of communication and a desire to expand their 
trade with Latin America, United States merchants and travelers are 
visiting intelligently the Latin American countries, and men of science 
and learning have, during the last few years, turned their eyes toward that 
continent, bringing to Hght the wonders of past ages buried by the 
sands of Time, and doing justice to a civilization until then little known, 
and only by a few. No better proof of the fact that Latin American 
civilization is worthy of note could be had than the desire to exchange 
professors and students between certain universities of the United 
States and those of the leading South American countries. 

Latin Americans have done much towards the progress of the world 
both intellectually and materially. Civilization may be divided into 



A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION ' II 

two great branches from which others spring: development of the 
intellectual forces of mankind, and development of the material resources 
for the benefit of all. Under the first head — as I have endeavored to 
show in the brief review of Uatin American history just made — we have 
educational institutions to train and perfect the mind, which have 
existed in Latin America for centuries, and the result of this training has 
been great jurists, historians, orators, physicians, painters, sculptors, 
poets, musicians, playwrights, and others too numerous to mention, 
as we are dealing with twenty countries, but whose works might fill a 
good-sized library. We have painters and sculptors of renown, whose 
works have been admired, rewarded and commended in the leading art 
centers of the world, and in all the countries there are art schools from 
which the students go preferably to Italy or France, most frequently 
pensioned by the government, to perfect themselves and do honor to 
their motherland. We have musicians wedded to their art and a credit 
to the country and themselves; and composers, singers and players 
educated in our own conservatories or schools. We have theatres and 
opera houses not surpassed by any others in America or Europe, and the 
governments of many, if not all of the Latin American countries, 
contribute to the musical education of the people by subsidizing opera 
troupes every season or so, paying heavy sums to obtain the best singers. 
Many a celebrity who has come to New York has commenced his career 
in Latin America. 

There is another phase of Latin American civilization showing in an 
unquestionable manner a natural tendency towards the establishment of 
higher ideals — those ideals that are today being proclaimed by men of 
good will of all nations. I refer to arbitration, the recourse to which is 
the highest form of culture among peoples. Arbitration is not new 
with us. It is one of the basic principles of the foundation of our social 
structure, since it rests on the civil law of Rome, which provides for 
. arbitration as one of the ordinary and usual means of settling differences 
between man and man. The principle of arbitration was first proclaimed 
on our continent by General Bolivar, the Liberator of South America — 
as far-sighted and keen a statesman as he was a military genius. Bolivar 
was the originator of the idea of holding the first Congress of Nations of 
America in Panama in 1826, for the purpose, among others, of adopting 
arbitration as a principle of American — that is to say. Pan American — 

policy. 

In recent years we have had recourse to arbitration and direct negotia- 

• tions partaking often of the nature of arbitration, more frequently than 

in all the rest of the world. Our Latin American wars have been civil 

wars for a political principle, and these mainly in countries where the 



12 THE PAN AMERICAN UNION. 

military element predominates. We have never engaged in wars of 
conquest. In our international difficulties, arbitration has always been 
the keynote of our negotiations. It is a remarkable fact that in the 
history of our Latin American republics, since they became independent 
from the mother country over one hundred years ago, we have had 
among ourselves only two wars which, if international in a sense, could 
be classed as national, since they were fought among members of our 
own family of republics. But these wars were not fought for territorial 
expansion nor in the spirit of conquest, although territory may have 
been gained as an indemnity. I refer to the Paraguayan war against 
Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, and the war of Chile and Bolivia against 
Peru. On the other hand, who, looking at the map of Europe today, 
would recognize it as the same Europe of half a century ago? With one 
or two exceptions — the Iberian and the Scandinavian peninsulas and the 
British Isles — there is not a single country that has not been remade at 
the cost of numberless lives and enormous bloodshed. 

All our boundary disputes — and they have been many — have been or 
are being settled by arbitration. Now, could any better proof be offered 
of the advancement of peoples who, while springing directly from a race 
of warriors, do not fear to work towards the ends of peace? 

Another proof of this spirit of progress is the maintenance in the city 
of Washington, by all the countries of our American hemisphere, of a 
unique organization called the Pan Anlerican Union, the living embodi- 
ment of the idea which created the International Union of American 
Republics as a result of the first Pan American Conference held in 
Washington over twenty years ago at the invitation of that great 
American statesm.an, James G. Blaine. The Pan American Union 
represents the spirit of progress, the desire for a better understanding, 
the necessity for stronger ties of friendship, felt among the republics of 
the three Americas, by making them known to one another, by bringing 
to the attention of the American people the opportunities offered by the 
Latin American countries, their civilization, their onward march 
towards prosperity, united in a single purpose of material and moral 
advancement. 

There is another aspect of Latin American civilization which deserves 
more than passing attention. It is their political life as members of the 
Pan American fraternity of independent nations. Their first step 
towards higher ideals was their declaration of independence and their 
assuming the duties and exercising the rights of sovereign states. The 
transition from colonial dependencies to self-governing nations was 
fraught with difficulties unknown to the citizens of the original thirteen 
states of the North American Union, resulting from different conditions, 
due in the main to the spirit that inspired their complete emancipation. 




A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 1 3 

The original thirteen states separated from England principally for 
practical reasons, while the vSpanish American countries had to contend 
with. an economic as well as a political problem. 

After a period of evolution — or, if you prefer it, revolutions — during 
which the several antagonistic interests were undergoing a process of 
amalgamation, or better still, clarification, there now exists, in the 
majority of Latin American countries, stable governments whose sole 
aim is to maintain above reproach the moral as well as the economic 
credit of their respective nations, so as to attract foreign capital and 
energy, which will stimulate the development of home industries, and 
insure peace, prosperity and happiness to its citizens. Some Latin 
American countries have been less fortunate, but every disturbance, 
every civil strife, has been a misdirected effort towards the attainment of 
a goal dreamed of by all and by all desired. Public education, foreign 
commerce, improved means of communication, greater development of 
the natural wealth of those countries are factors which have contributed 
and are constantly contributing to the establishment of a peaceful era 
which will eventually become normal and stable. 

As to the material phase of Latin American civilization, all I have to 
say is that communication with the other countries of the world is 
represented by over fifty steamship lines plying between European ports 
and those of Latin America, and about twenty-five lines running from 
the United States to the Atlantic, Caribbean and west coast ports of 
Latin America. The combined railway mileage from Mexico down to 
Chile and Argentina, including the island countries of Cuba, Haiti and 
the Dominican Republic, is estimated at 65,330 miles, Argentina leading 
with over 20,300 miles; next comes Mexico with over 16,000 miles; 
Brazil follows with about 14,000 miles; Chile, over 5,000; Cuba, nearly 
2,200, and the other republics in lesser proportion. There is not one 
single country, however, that is not included in this total mileage. It 
may seem strange that in an area of about 9,000,000 square miles there 
should be only 65,000 miles of railway, but if you stop a moment to 
consider the enormous barrier extending along the west coast of South 
America, formed by the mighty range of mountains which is but a con- 
tinuation through Mexico, Central, and western South America of the 
Rocky Mountains, and the scarcity of population which creates demands 
and makes traffic profitable, you will understand why the railways of 
Latin America have not advanced faster. But even under these circum- 
stances, not a day passes but some work is done towards the extension of 
that railway mileage. 

Another phase of civilization and progress is the foreign commerce of a 
country. Latin America in this respect has a good record, and the 
figures representing its foreign trade in 19 12 are, in round numbers, as 



14 THK PAN AMERICAN UNION. 

follows: total Latin American commerce, $2,811,000,000, the exports 
being represented by $1,571,000,000 and the imports by $1,240,000,000. 
The total trade with the United States amounted to about $825,832,000, 
of which $519,025,000 was exports, and $306,807,000 imports. The 
progress made by Latin America in its commercial relations with the 
world at large and the United States, especially, shows that there is a great 
consumption of all such articles as are considered necessary to civiliza- 
tion. Latin America is not a manufacturing continent; it mainly pro- 
duces for export agricultural products such as sugar, coffee, rubber, 
tobacco, cacao or cocoa, cotton, etc., hides and other raw materials, 
mining products such as silver, gold, tin, copper, iron, bismuth, saltpeter, 
etc., and a few gems. Its main imports are machinery of all kinds, 
hardware, cotton and other fabrics, foodstuffs, carriages and automobiles, 
railway material, electrical appliances, and other similar products of 
industry necessary to the cultivation of the land, the improvement of 
roads and cities, and the comfort of the inhabitants. There is not a 
city of any importance in Latin America where either artificial illuminat- 
ing gas or electric light is unknown. Telegraph and telephone wires, 
stretch all over Latin America, uniting cities and towns, over the wilds 
and across the mountains, bridging powerful rivers, connecting neighbor- 
ing countries and linking our shores with the rest of the civilized world. 
Not an event of any importance takes place in Europe, Asia, or Africa, 
or the United States which the submarine cable does not bring to the 
Latin American press, to be made public either in the form of bulletins 
or in "extras," according to the importance of the event, while nearly 
every Latin American country has its wireless telegraph system. 
Electric cars are fast replacing the older and slower methods of transpor- 
tation within the cities and extending their usefulness to carrying 
passengers to suburban villas, small towns or country places of amuse- 
ment, and Buenos Aires, the largest Latin American capital, has a 
subway in operation. 

In conclusion, I may say that a charge frequently made against us 
Latin Americans, and in a sense true, is that we are a race of dreamers. 
Perhaps it is so. We inherited from our forefathers the love of the 
beautiful and the grand; the facility for expression and the vivid im- 
agination of our race; from them we inherited the sonorous, majestic 
Spanish, the flexible, musical Portuguese, and the French, language of 
art, and a responsive chord to ah that thrihs, be it color, harmony, or 
mental imagery; we inherited their varying moods, their noble traits and 
their shortcomings, both of which we have preserved, and in certain 
cases improved, under the influence of our environment, our majestic 
mountains, our primeval forests, the ever blooming tropical flowers, the 
birds of sweetest wild songs and wonderful plumage ; under magnificent 



A GLANCE AT LATIN AMERICAN CIVILIZATION 1 5 

skies and the inspiration taken from other poets and writers, be they 
foreign or native, who have gone through hfe Hke the minstrels of old 
with a song on their lips and an unsatisfied yearning in their hearts. 

Much more might be said to show the constant endeavor of I^atin 
America to cooperate with its best efforts to the civilization of the world. 
It has contributed readily according to its Latin standards, and from 
the day of its independence and the establishment of republican institu- 
tions, Latin America has recognized the rights of man, abolished slavery, 
ostered education, developed its commerce and increased traveling 
facilities and means of communication with the outer world. It has" 
contributed to the best of its ability to the sum total of human better- 
ment, and the day cannot be far off when full justice will be done to the 
efforts of the countries south of the United States, where live a people 
intelligent, progressive, proud of their history and their own efforts, and 
ready to extend a friendly hand and a sincere welcome to those who are 
willing ta understand them, and aid them on their road to progress. 

The interest shown by the leading universities and educational 
institutions of the United States in fostering better acquaintance with 
intellectual Latin America, in giving special courses in the history of 
those nations, in endeavoring to establish with them an exchange of 
professors and students, deserves the sincere appreciation of every Latin 
American, and as a Latin American myself, I desire to express here my 
deep gratitude. To Clark University, in particular, and its executive 
officers, I wish to extend my most cordial congratulations for the 
friendly — I may say fraternal — thought of dedicating this conference to 
the discussion of Latin-American topics. It is indeed a noble thought. 
I[also wish to thank the executive officers of Clark University for their 
courtesy in allowing me to present before you the views of a Latin 
American as to what we are and what we have done towards the general 
progress of the world. 






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LSSl^'^ CONGRESS 




015 844 8105 



THE PAN AMERICAN UNION is the inter- 
national organization and office maintained 
in Washington, D. C, by the twenty-one 
American republics, as follows: Argentina, Bolivia, 
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Domini- 
can Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, 
Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Salva- 
dor, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. It is 
devoted to the development and advancement of 
commerce, friendly intercourse, and good under- 
standing among these countries. It is supported by 
quotas contributed by each country, based upon the 
population. Its affairs are administered by a Direc- 
tor General and Assistant Director, elected by and 
responsible to a Governing Board, which is com- 
posed of the Secretary of State of the United States 
and the diplomatic representatives in Washington 
of the other American governments. These two 
executive officers are assisted by a staff of inter- 
national experts, statisticians, commercial special- 
ists, editors, translators, compilers, librarians, clerks 
and stenographers. The Union publishes a Monthly 
Bulletin in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, 
which is a careful record of Pan American progress. 
It also publishes numerous special reports and pam- 
phlets on various subjects of practical information. 
Its library, the Columbus Memorial Library, con- 
tains 36,000 volumes, 18,000 photographs, 132,000 
index cards, and a large collection of maps. The 
Union is housed in a beautiful building erected 
through the munificence of Andrew Carnegie. 



Press of Gibson Br 
Washington' 



